The present invention relates to a tile assembly consisting of a tile support plate and a plurality of tiles mounted on the support plate.
FIGS. 3 and 4 show a conventional tile assembly in which a tile 1 is mounted on a tile support plate 4 secured to a wall 2 via a waterproof sheet 3. The tile support plate 4 has a plurality of laterally brackets 5 each having a width of W and a substantially L-shaped cross section. A pair of engaging grooves 6 are provided on the backside of a tile 1 to receive a certain number of lateral brackets 5 for securing the tile 1 to the support plate 4.
When the support plate 4 is to be cut along a vertical line at the end of a wall, the lateral brackets 5 having a width of W can be on the line, making the cutting operation very difficult. In addition, the angle between the lateral brackets 5 and the support plate 4 is liable to change during storage of handling, making it difficult to snap a tile over deformed lateral brackets. When L-shaped tiles are used at an edge or corner of two walls, it is impossible to use the lateral brackets 5 so that they must be cut off and only adhesive can be used.